


hero hearts

by scotlland



Category: One Direction (Band)
Genre: Fluff, M/M, Winter, like obscene amounts of fluff, really i'm so sorry, superhero au
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-12-13
Updated: 2014-12-13
Packaged: 2018-03-01 08:41:56
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,942
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2766806
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/scotlland/pseuds/scotlland
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Harry just loved the way Louis' skintight Supersuit hugged his curves, every last one of them from his tiny waist to his perfectly round bum. <em>Later, Harry. There are villains to be fought.</em></p><p>Or</p><p>Saving the city in the middle of December is tough work. Cuddles, anyone?</p>
            </blockquote>





	hero hearts

**Author's Note:**

> This is part of the larryfanfiction Holiday Cheer Fic Challenge! I'm really excited to have participated in this.
> 
> My three elements were superhero universe, holiday movies, and fluff. This was my first experience with a superhero AU, so I took this opportunity to borrow creatively from some of my favorite superhero comics and movies. Hopefully I did okay :)
> 
> I would suggest cozying up with a blanket and a mug of hot cocoa while reading this short little ditty. Enjoy :) xx

* * *

 

“Tomlinson, Horan,” the Director was shouting at them. “We need you in London ASAP. There’s a handful of Rogues terrorizing Chelsea as we speak.”

“Copy,” Niall held the communicator on his wrist and indicated that they understood their directions. “We’ve already been briefed and we’re boarding the jet any second now.”

Alarms were sounding all around them, agents were running this way and that, higher-ups shouting commands at their squadrons. Whenever there was an attack going on, the normally-calm headquarters shifted into contradiction of orderly chaos.

“I’ve got two freelance Supers meeting you down there,” the Director admitted while Louis and Niall geared up.

“Director!” Louis shouted, trying to sound firm rather than whiney, and knowing he probably hadn’t succeeded. “You know Horan, Malik, and I work as a trio. Outsiders throw off our dynamic and get in our way.”

“Tough luck,” the Director said with a tone of finality. “You can’t handle this alone so get over it, Hydro Bat. Over and out.” And with that, the Director was gone and their communicators fell into sleep mode.

Louis was absolutely fuming as he and Niall were escorted out of the base and onto the waiting aircraft. Blowing snow whipped and stung their faces and they had to throw their bodies against the wind in order to jog the 50 or so yards to the jet, which did absolutely nothing to improve Louis’ sour mood. Louis held up a hand and suddenly all the snow diverted and went around them, leaving them with only the wind to combat. Niall laughed as they neared their destination.

“Sometimes I forget the controlling water thing also includes snow,” Niall marveled. “Absolutely brilliant, mate.”

Zayn was waiting for them inside the jet. He briefed them more fully on the impending battle as the jet was sealed and began takeoff. The co-pilot of the aircraft craned his neck around to face the team, and Louis and Niall should not have been surprised to see another Zayn sitting there, but they honestly didn’t know if they would ever get used to the doppelgängers.

“Strap in, boys,” Co-pilot Zayn started.

“Christ,” Louis swore under his breath. “How do we even know which one’s the real one?”

“Does it matter?” asked the Zayn who’d originally greeted them on the jet.

“But it’s me,” the captain raised his hand without turning his head. Co-pilot Zayn reached across for a fist bump.

“Idiots.” Passenger-Zayn rolled his eyes. Louis found this charade incredibly annoying and was unsure of which Zayn he should glare at. Next to him though, Niall had dissolved into stitches with tears welling in his eyes from the laughter.

“Okay team, we’ve only got a 10-minute flight. Don’t get too comfy,” Captain-Zayn instructed.

“Aye aye, Captain,” Niall managed to utter through fits of laughter. Louis was sure that if he’d rolled his eyes any harder, they would have popped out of their sockets.

~

After successfully landing the jet on the rooftop of a skyscraper and powering down the engines, the two extraneous Zayns disappeared, leaving only the real deal. Looking across at Louis and Niall, Zayn cracked a determined smile.

“Let’s go get ‘em, boys,” he said with an air of nonchalance, as though destroying the enemy would take all of 15 minutes and they’d be home no later half six. In all honesty though, this was probably not far from the reality of it.

Zayn, Louis, and Niall made up the London-based Superteam known as the Iron League. They were the most prominent superheroes in all of the United Kingdom, but did most of their work around the London area. The mere mention of their name could strike fear into the hearts of even the most dastardly villains. The Rogues they were about to encounter were menacing robots sent by Modest, a truly mad villain from the North whose endgame was to make everyone miserable. The colossal metal men were there to spread terror across the city.

“Jesus,” Louis said from the edge of the skyscraper as the team stood surveying the damage the Rogues had already done in this area. Buildings cracked and partly crumbling, debris littering the streets, concrete sidewalks and asphalt roads with terrible rifts in them, cars crushed like tinfoil and flipped over and consumed by flames. “You’d think that if Modest wanted to do some real damage, he’d stop sending the Rogues right into our waiting arms.” The others chuckled darkly.

“Alrighty Hydro Bat, Mr. Multiple. What’s our plan of attack?” Niall inquired.

“We’ve got a plan,” a voice called form behind them. “Attack.”

The team turned around to see the two freelancers the Director had spoken of approaching them. One was tall, handsome, and built; the real Superhero type. Louis recognized him as Rock Man. The other Super was tall and gangly, and Louis had to suppress a squawk of laughter at the sight of him brambling toward them.

He had crossed paths with Captain Flame quite a few times, but Louis could never understand how he constituted for a Superhero. Bloody great set of powers on him, but he certainly did not look the part. He had a mop of flowing hair, a bit like Thor’s only curly and brown. His arms bore just the faintest trace of muscle on them, and he had skinny little legs that seemed to go on for miles.

He was quite charming, really. He seemed soft and warm, and Louis wondered if the Superhero business had been his choice. (If he was anything like every Super Louis ever met, the powers were not his choice, but hero-ing was the only sensible use for them.) Louis felt a tug of pity and wondered what Harry would be doing with his life had the powers not interrupted. Or was he born with them? Was he even human? Louis found himself utterly curious.

“That sounds like a perfect plan,” Zayn said, nodding toward the two as they joined the Iron League at the roof’s edge.

“The Rogues have made their way east,” Rock Man continued. “Cap and I did all we could to slow them down – roughed ‘em up a bit – but it’s going to take all of us to neutralize them completely.” He spoke quickly and seemed a bit on edge. “They’re causing more damage than the typical Rogues. We suspect Modest has begun stepping up his game a little.”

“Then it’s settled,” Zayn said, looking around at the group. “We’ve got some Rogues to eliminate.”

~

Harry tried so hard to contain his excitement about working alongside the Iron League. He’d met them all beofre, but that had always been in casual situations; no Supersuits, no bad guys. It was always street clothes and civilian-living, bumping into the team at this party or that. But this. This was something new entirely.

They all seemed so sophisticated and professional. Real agents for a real agency. Harry had constant offers from agencies all over the place, and it was a personal decision to stick to his freelance work. But still, being an official agent seemed so glamorous. Seriously, look at the huge jet they’d just shown up in! Harry suddenly felt deathly embarrassed at the fact that he’d taken the tube to get to Chelsea.

While Harry loved being freelance, working with a proper team every now and then was nice. He didn’t want to be tied down to an agency to be told which assignments he could and could not take. He liked the freedom of being able to save anyone anywhere at any time. It gave him that “friendly neighborhood Captain Flame” kind of feel.

He felt alive as he raced toward the Rogues in the center of the city, four brilliant Superheroes on either side of him. The only thing rubbing him the wrong way was this damn mid-December blizzard. Couldn’t Modest have sent the Rogues in July? But as it was, he was very thankful for the visor attached to the headpiece of his Supersuit, brilliantly shielding his eyes from the stinging snow. He glanced up at Hydro Bat flaying just overhead and couldn’t even imagine how cold he must be.

And that was probably the most exciting part about being commissioned for this task by the agency that ran the Iron League; he got to work alongside the gorgeous Hydro Bat, Louis freaking Tomlinson. Harry just loved the way his skintight Supersuit hugged his curves, every last one of them from his tiny waist to his perfectly round bum. _Later, Harry. There are villains to be fought._ The group was fast approaching the city center where the Rogues were currently terrorizing civilians, but Harry’s thoughts were far from the task at hand.

Harry’s earpiece buzzed with the sound of Mr. Multiple’s voice shouting commands as the Rogues came into their view. Harry was forced out of his domestic daydream starring Louis, and trained his thoughts on reality. For now at least. Plenty of time for day dreaming about baking holiday cookies with Louis after the Rogues had been defeated.

~

These five heroes comprised the finest Superteam London had ever seen. Civilians looking on from their frightened hideouts were filled with overwhelming joy at the sight of their saviors swooping in. They were saved.

Hydro Bat took advantage of the copious amounts of snow, bending it to his will, throwing snowballs at the robot he and Rock Man targeted. Louis’ contained more force than your average snowball and actually helped to slow down the Rogue. Flying up to its height, he would gather a bit of snow, melt it, shoot it in the Rogue’s exposed gears, and then freeze the water. This did a brilliant job of bringing it to almost a complete standstill, at which point Rock Man would drag up a great big bit of earth and begin his walloping. Liam repeatedly pummeled bits of hard earth and rock into the robot’s metal casing, denting it tremendously. Keeping this up, it was only a matter of time until the Rogue’s wires began short-circuiting, and the light from this Rogue’s electronic eyes dimmed, then went out completely as the 60-foot robot fell to the ground with a horrid crash. It had taken approximately ten minutes.

Elsewhere, Shadow and Mr. Multiple joined their powers of super strength and deception to trick and destroy their Rogue. They found heavy objects such as already-damaged cars and chunks of concrete that had been broken up by the Rogues’ destructive fury and whirled them at the robots. They targeted their weak spots: joints in the metal armor and the power panel on their backs. After Niall hit his target, he would step back into a shadow and disappear, quickly reappearing in a shadow on the opposite side of the beast to confuse it, and whirl another heavy object form there. There were multiple Zayns positioned around the Rogue so they could all hit the robot at one time, causing maximum damage. Their Rogue went down shortly after Louis and Liam’s.

Captain Flame had started out on the third and final Rogue by himself. This one was by far the most lethal of the three, and Harry was clearly struggling. He’d been picked up by one of the claw hands and tossed against buildings, slammed into the concrete, tossed this way and that. Disoriented, he shot poorly-aimed fire balls at the robot when he could, but this only served to infuriate the Rogue even more and did absolutely nothing to slow it down. He really was having an off day.

Thank god the others finished taking out their Rogues and joined Harry as soon as they could. He wasn’t sure how much longer he was going to last by himself. When the other four swooped in, Harry dodged into an ally to collect himself. Hunched over with his hands on his knees, he breathed deeply and surveyed his visible injuries: cuts and bruises covering his exposed skin and tears in his suit. He’d hated having to repair his Supersuit. Nevertheless, the show must go on. Just as he was about to duck back into the fray, Louis flew down and landed directly in front of him, blocking off his path.

“Sorry mate, can’t let you back out there,” Louis said, addressing Harry’s confusion.

“Hydro, pl-” Harry made to push around Louis, but he was cut short by Louis placing both hands on Harry’s shoulders and guiding him backwards.

“Harry, no.” Louis’ words were firm and unwavering as he maintained steady eye contact. Harry was so struck by the arctic blueness of this man’s eyes that he almost didn’t register the fact that’d he’d just used Harry’s real name. Despite the urge to protest, Harry was stunned into a compliant silence. “Taking on that Rogue alone was not a smart move, Cap. You’re already injured, we can’t let you continue in this state. Just sit back while we wrap this thing up and then we’ll get you out of here.”

Still unhappy, Harry could do nothing but give a nod of understanding. Louis took a sweeping glance up and down Harry, surveying the damage he’d sustained. Or was he checking him out? Fuck. No, he wouldn’t be that blatantly obvious about it. But was he? _Fuck, Harry. Stop it._

“Do what you can to help get the rest of the lingering civilians to safety,” Louis instructed before taking off into the air, joining the others making progress on destroying the last Rogue.

Harry was suddenly consumed with a rage unrivaled. _What a prick! Who does that arse think he is, stomping around here like he owns the Superhero business, as if he can tell me when I can and can’t fight?_ Harry almost jumped back into the battle just to spite Louis, but he stopped himself. He really did need a break; this fight was not a big enough deal for Harry to get seriously injured over. He peered around the corner of the building and down the street, spotting a smattering of civilians here and there, cowering behind abandoned cars and undoubtedly fearing for their lives as they watched the battle.

Ignoring the sudden wave of annoyance at the others – especially Louis – that had previously washed over him, Harry’s hero instincts kicked back in and he jumped to action. He rounded up a pair of school girls, a mother clutching her infant child, and a few young boys and swiftly escorted them to a safer area a few blocks over. He made sure each and every one of them was unharmed and warm enough and mentally stable before heading back into the warzone to search for anyone he hadn’t spotted the first time.

~

“Sick job, everybody,” Niall affirmed as they settled into seats on the jet while Zayn prepared for takeoff. The last Rogue was a nasty one, and it had taken them longer than expected to destroy it. They were all worn out.

Harry sat away from the group and didn’t join their celebrative cheers. He felt weird about how the battle had played out. He was uncharacteristically off his game, and it really had been a stupid decision to try and take on that Rogue alone. He was throwing himself a full-on pity party when a voice interrupted his thoughts.

“Hey mate.” It was Louis’ soft tenor. “Sorry about having to get all uptight like that earlier, not letting you back into the fight and whatnot.” Harry gazed at Louis who had claimed the seat next to him. Louis eyes were trained on the headrest of the seat in front of him. The side of his face that Harry could see was a bit dirty and scratched up. His hair was tousled this way and that.

“Oh,” Harry said. “S’okay.”

“Honestly I- we were just looking out for you.” Harry noticed Louis’ gaze switch to his lap as he stumbled on his words.

“No, I get it. Thanks for stopping me.”

“How are you feeling? Is anything broken?” Louis inquired, finally looking up and over to meet Harry’s gaze. Harry had to wrench his focus away from Louis’ frost-colored eyes in order to think about how he was feeling.

“Yeah, no, I think I’m alright. Nothing’s broken, probably just some nasty bruises. I’ll be okay.” Louis’ face softened into a warm smile, the corners of his eyes crinkling along with the soft curve of his lips.

“Great,” He cooed. He then addressed the entire group. “Listen boys, great fight, we worked really well together.” Grunts of agreement all around. “How about you all head home, clean yourselves up, and meet at my place at eight? Pizza and beer, maybe some holiday-themed sugar cookies if you’re lucky.”

Everyone delighted at the invitation. Harry grinned and oh, fuck, no Harry was most definitely not imagining what it would be like to make a lovely mess in Louis kitchen mixing and baking and frosting delicious little cookies, eventually getting too fond for their own good and removing each other’s’ shirts, what the soft skin of Louis’ chest would look like with a dusting of powdered sugar across it, what it would be like to lick it off of him. _Fuck._

~

Four boxes of pizza lay empty on the kitchen counter of Louis’ flat. He huffed a chuckle at the sight. Picking up the platter of cookies he’d made yesterday, he headed back to the living room where the other four had imperialized all of Louis’ furniture.

“Do you animals even have room for cookies?” He sassed as he set the platter down on the coffee table. No verbal response, just chaotic motion and grabby hands and suddenly the plate was considerably less full. “ _Animals_ ,” Louis repeated dramatically as he settled into a spot next to Harry on his suede sofa.

“What movie did we decide on next?” Liam demanded with a mouth full of cookie, sat full of content on the lay-z-boy. They had already made their way through _Elf_ and _Christmas With the Kranks_.

“ _Love Actually_ , of course,” Zayn said eyeing Louis with a smirk.

“Zayn, I refuse to let your attempts and mockery degrade me,” Louis said, affecting his tone just a little to reflect a more posh dialect. “ _Love Actually_ is my favorite movie of all time and I am not ashamed of it.” The others laughed as Niall started the movie and Zayn hit the lights.

“It’s okay, I love this movie, too.” With the cover of the beginning sounds of the movie, Harry had leaned toward Louis to whisper to him. Louis looked up and beamed at him, and didn’t protest when Harry stayed at that short distance a little longer than he should have.

Louis spent a majority of the movie hardly paying attention to the screen, rather worrying about whether or not it was acceptable to reach for Harry’s hand. _God damn it, we are grown adults; this should not be so difficult_. Throughout the course of the movie, they had clearly inched closer and closer toward each other, they were now touching from their shoulders to their feet.

Louis glanced over to the other couch to find Niall already asleep, his head and his hand resting on Zayn’s chest, Zayn’s arm wrapped around Niall’s shoulders. They we’re reclined, practically vertical, practically spooning. He knew it. He _fucking_ knew it. A bubble of content welled up in him as he watched them.

Beyond them, Louis could see out the sliding glass door onto the balcony. Snow continued to fall to the earth and accumulate gratuitously, illuminated by the multicolored fairy lights hanging from above. For most of the city, the snow served as a major annoyance, but Louis found it quite magical. He loved the snow; it made him want to grab Harry and cuddle him close in front of a crackling fireplace in a ski chateau somewhere in the Alps. _Stop it, Louis_.

When he’d pulled his gaze around to land on the boy next to him, he was met with the muted forest of Harry’s eyes, almost unnoticed in the lack of light. They shared a smile that was a little more than just a smile before Louis forced his attention back to the movie.

A humorous scene had caused uproarious laughter from those who were still awake, and in Harry’s fit of giggles, he throw his head back and, without thinking, grabbed Louis’ leg with his left hand. Louis’ jolted, but luckily didn’t make a big enough commotion for Harry to notice. So when the plague of laughter had subsided, Harry stayed his hand right where it was. With a quick glance to Louis for assurance that this was okay, and Louis giving him a content little grin, Harry leaned into Louis a little more.

~

By the time the movie ended, Louis was leaning against the armrest of the couch and Harry was curled up as close as he could be with his head resting up by Louis’ shoulder, his face tilted so his nose rubbed his neck. Both of Louis’ arms wrapped around Harry and held them in this sort of lopsided jigsaw puzzle that in theory shouldn’t fit but as they were felt so, _so_ right.

Louis had been so wrapped up in his work in recent years that he hadn’t even bothered trying to maintain a relationship. It seemed like a hassle and he didn’t want it getting in the way of his job. But Louis had seen Harry around the Superhero circuit a few times, bumping into each other at parties or conventions. The boy had struck a chord within Louis, leaving him in awe of the hero. His freelancing came across to Louis as a very noble thing: Harry wasn’t in it for the money, but for the sheer unadulterated pleasure of saving people. Louis was very impressed by it. Right now, in this moment with the TV screen displaying the play screen on repeat and everyone else asleep, Louis knew he’d been subconsciously hoping for this for a long time. He suddenly couldn’t remember why he’d wanted to stay single.

It dawned on Louis that he was unsure of whether or not Harry was awake. He’d been still, unmoving for a time, and Louis figured that he must have dozed off. And he was absolutely okay with that as well.

“Lou,” as if on cue, a soft voice right by his ear startled him from his thoughts. Okay, so Harry wasn’t asleep.

“Hmm?” It was a low, drawn-out hum.

“You kinda saved my life today.” Harry’s voice was thick with exhaustion, but there was a note of sincerity buried within his tone. Louis went to scoff and laugh off Harry’s claim – what Louis had done was far from life-saving – but Harry cut him off. “Really. That Rogue was nasty, and if I had kept fighting, it would have targeted me and beat me senseless.”

“Wouldn’t have let that happen,” Louis interjected softly.

“Honestly though, thank you.” Harry’s words were punctuated with a tentative kiss to Louis neck, igniting sparks down the length of Louis’ back which pooled in his stomach.

_Harry, I want this to be more than a late-night snuggle after a hard day of saving the city. I want you to take you on a proper date and treat you well. I want to cook you a homemade meal and bake holiday cookies with you in my kitchen and make snow angels together in the snow. I want you to be the first person I hear a “happy birthday” from on Christmas Eve. But I’m scared, Harry. I don’t know how to do this, but I want to do it right._

“You’re welcome, Harry.”

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks so much for reading, friends! Comments and kudos are always lovely
> 
> You can find me on tumblr as fukshoran


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